Fighting to save your license, your freedom, and your dignity. Dedicated to the aggressive defense of people charged with DWI. Firmly believes that responsible social drinking is not a crime.

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Georgetown detective arrested, fired in drunken driving case

The Austin American Statesman reported that a Georgetown police detective accused of drunken driving was arrested and fired Wednesday, and a Georgetown police commander was suspended without pay for having the detective driven home instead of conducting an investigation.

Georgetown Assistant Police Chief Kevin Stofle said Detective Lamont Navarrette, a 10-year-veteran of the department, was charged with driving while intoxicated on Wednesday in a June 5 incident in which the off-duty detective was allegedly driving drunk.

Stofle said a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper stopped to check on the car, which was stopped on Leander Road at the southbound exit ramp of Interstate 35, in Williamson County, at 2:30 a.m. Trooper Chris Hughes thought Navarrette was drunk and called Georgetown police to assist.

When Cmdr. Wayne Hilgenberg and Sgt. Jimmy Fennell arrived, Hughes left them to deal with Navarrette and continued on to the hospital.

An internal investigation found that the two officers failed to properly discharge their duties.

Hilgenberg was suspended without pay, and Fennell received a written reprimand, Stofle said.

This, plus the prior Williamson County Deputy released after failing to do the Field Sobriety Tests, shows that there is a serious problem with preferential treatment with regards to police officers in Williamson County. Trooper Hughes would have NEVER let this person go, if he had not been a detective.